Author Harry Hunsicker spins tales of Dallas that don’t fit the glitzy image advocated by the Chamber of Commerce. His Dallas is one of dope dens, backstabbing in the barrios as well as city hall, a river and a roadway system that was deliberately constructed to divide the rich and poor, where the ends justify the means in you are on the winning side of the deal. Where the streets are paved with broken dreams amidst the cracked asphalt and where babies are born with no hope and no chance to get out. This view was part of the backbone of his very good Lee Henry Oswald Mystery Series (begin with Still River) and is also present in the Jon Cantrell Thriller Series. The second book in the series, Shadow Boys, picks up a few months after, The Contractors and leads readers on a history lesson while dealing with a violence fueled here and now though not all of the violence comes by way a weapon.

When he isn’t messing with the tourists at the Grassy Knoll by tossing around empty rifle cartridges, Jon Cantrell works for a law firm out of Washington, D. C. He is paid well to discreetly handle situations that arise when government shipments of important cargo are not returned or fall into the wrong hands. While the law firm prefers that he not moonlight, in this case, his boss has granted Jon Cantrell permission to meet with someone that they would like to have a relationship with going forward.

That someone is Deputy Chief Raul Delgado of the Dallas Police Department who is a rising star in the DPD despite, or maybe inspite, of his violent background. The movers and shakers have begun grooming Delgado and offering advice as they believe that he is a person who someday might be sitting in the governor’s mansion down in Austin or occupying a legislative seat in Washington. The same drive that got Delgado to where is now is the same drive that in some ways is preventing him from rising further. While aware of that dichotomy, Delgado is more focused on a mission of a personal nature. Delgado wants a certain 13 year old autistic boy who lives with his elderly grandmother in West Dallas found. The child has been possibly missing for a few days now and the details of his living situation are very sketchy. Delgado can’t use the vast resources of the DPD and needs a man with the proper skills as well as being sufficiently motivated to get the job done. Considering the boy’s name is Tremont Washington Jon Cantrell is most definitely the man on both counts. Not only does he have the skill set, Jon Cantrell owes a debt to Tremont’s father that he can never repay. Cantrell is also seriously annoyed that despite what he had been told by the Texas Department of Public Safety ten years ago the family was never relocated to California and has remained in a very bad situation in West Dallas.

Tremont Washington has to be found. That storyline is the primary storyline for the book which features several other storylines all interconnected in various ways to the primary hunt for the child. Throw in a missing government weapons shipment, an out of control SWAT officer, city politics, and a series of vigilante murders, among other items, and things get very interesting in the Texas heat.

Shadow Boys is a fast moving and intense read that surpasses the first book, The Contractors. Interspaced with the action and the mystery are small flashes of cynical and often sarcastic humor. Violence comes in many forms in this thriller as does political expediency and deceit. As in the first book of the series, there is some hard edged sarcasm about the city along the Trinity River that has no real reason for being other than sheer force of will. While the Chamber of Commerce may hate Hunsicker’s non photo shopped version of Big D, the author showcases yet again that he has a very good understanding of makes the city and its residents tick in various ways. Along the way he delivers a complex thriller that crisscrosses time and space all across the city proving that Shadow Boys is one book to make sure and read.

Book Three in the series is titled THE GRID and was released August, 2015. The book is in my tbr pile and will be read and reviewed soon.

Shadow Boys (A Jon Cantrell Thriller Book 2)
Harry Hunsicker
http://www.harryhunsicker.com
Thomas & Mercer
http://www.apub.com
December 2014
ISBN#: 978-1477825754
Paperback (also available in e-book and audio forms)
384 Pages
$8.99

Material was supplied by the author quite some time ago in exchange for my objective review.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2015

Reviews and More http://kevintipplescorner.blogspot.com/

January on Galveston Island means that one can still go fishing when northern sections of Texas and the United States are experiencing the brutal joys of old man winter. While one can stand on the gulf coast pier and throw a line into the ocean until the pier closes at five that does not mean the fish will cooperate. They certainly aren’t cooperating on this beautiful day when Dino comes out on the pier to talk.

Truman Smith has known Dino for a lot of years. Rarely does he come out and Dino never ventures out over the water even if it by way of a solid pier. Not only did Dino have to pay three bucks to come out onto the pier, he is missing part of his lineup of reality television talk shows that were so prevalent back in the 90’s. Whatever he needs is very important, at least to Dino, through Truman Smith isn’t exactly thrilled with him for a variety of reasons.

He is less thrilled when he hears what drove Dino to actually leave his home. Dino wants to hire Truman Smith and his private investigator skills to find the legendary local guy known as “Outside Harry.” An island fixture the man has been homeless for decades. Outside Harry has been homeless and probably always will be once he is found safe.  It is a lifestyle choice for Outside Harry and one that will make him harder to find than the average person. Dino, who never was a part of the family business when gambling interests ran Galveston Island, has been making use of his contacts and can’t find him. Dino and his wife, Evelyn, want him found simply because he is missing and they are worried something might have happened to him.

“Besides,” Evelyn went on, “if you don’t look for him, nobody will. Nobody cares what happens to an old man like that.” (Page 8)

There is that as Truman is well aware. Dino is willing to pay in terms of cash and sweetens the deal with an unopened box of Tender Vittles for Truman’s cat, “Nameless” so Truman agrees to do a little looking. That search for Outside Henry leads him to a legendary island building, more than one ambush, and plenty more in “When Old Men Die: A Truman Smith Mystery.”

Third in the series following Dead on the Island and Gator Kill the read is a complex tale of mystery and deceit along with a touch of Texas History. Darker in tone than the Sheriff Dan Rhodes Series, the Truman Smith series features a private investigator that is trying to come to terms with his past and the guilt he feels. As such, each book finds him a little further along that path as he slowly copes with recent events. There are the occasional small flashes of humor, but mainly this book and the series in general is more action orientated with serious situations that are more detailed than in some of the author’s other books. This is a very good series that should be read in order due to the numerous events referenced in When Old Men Die: A Truman Smith Mystery. This series, much like the author, does not get the recognition that is well deserved.

When Old Men Die: A Truman Smith Mystery
Bill Crider
http://www.billcrider.com
Walker and Company (subsidiary of Bloomsbury Publishing)
http://www.bloomsbury.com
November 1994
ISBN# 0-8027-3195-3
Hardback
192 Pages (available in audio cassette and e-book versions)
$19.95

Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano Library System.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2015

Reviews and More http://kevintipplescorner.blogspot.com/

His real name is J. D. Miller. Many know him as “The Lawyer” as a nod to his former profession. These days his courtroom is the land and he is judge, jury, and executioner. He is on a quest to dispense personal justice to those who wronged him so grievously though some do not care for his taking justice into his own hands. That means there are deputies and others looking for him. That sad state of affairs means that his hunt comes with additional risk every time he sets foot into a town.

He had arrived in the north Texas town of Emmett minutes before the explosion at the jail. He had planned a relaxing evening including a good night sleep in an actual bed at the nearby hotel. He was still in the street when the explosion at the jail up the way took out the back wall. Then, a few seconds later, the shooting started.

In the chaos Miller ran to help and opened fire on the outlaws as they rode down the street seconds after they had killed two that wore badges. While managing to stop one of the outlaws from escaping, Miller sustained injuries. Injuries that lead him to need treatment from the local doctor who also happens to be a fountain of information regarding the situation and more in The Lawyer: The Retributioners by Wayne D. Dundee.

Using characters originally created by Edward A. Grainger, author Wayne D. Dundee has created another excellent installment of the series. The Lawyer: The Retributioners touches on the narrow minded racism prevalent at the time and other societal issues while delivering a solidly good western tale. A tale that continues the groundwork laid by Edward A. Grainger this work further expands and continues the series like what has happened with Cash Laramie and Gideon Miles series.

If this series is new to you The Lawyer: The Retributioners can be read first though there are references to events found earlier in the series. For that reason it would be best to start with The Lawyer: Stay Of Execution which includes the original short story, The Lawyer by Edward A. Grainger.

The Lawyer: The Retributioners
Wayne D. Dundee
http://www.fromdundeesdesk.blogspot.com
Beat To A Pulp
http://www.beattoapulp.com
July 2015
ISBN#: 978-1943035076
Paperback (also available in e-book)
114 Pages
$6.50

Material supplied by the publisher in exchange for my objective review.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2015

Dustin, aka Dusty, tends to be a loner. At the same time he sort of wants a family. Not a 24 hour 7 day a week family, but a family he could use as sort of cover in between jobs. Teresa and her son Jeremy fit that bill.

The problem with inserting yourself into a family is that, if you are not very careful, their issues and problems become your problems and issues. Teresa’s problem, even if she does not know it is her old boyfriend, Davis. Jeremy’s problem is that he is a fourth grader getting seriously bullied at school, and looking for a father figure.

Dusty can help with those problems but he demands total and complete loyalty. That means the person who took Dusty’s hard earned money out of the suitcase stashed in the hall closet better return it quickly. Dusty is between bank jobs and there wasn’t enough for someone to go lifting a few bills out in the first place. It is also a matter of respect as what Dusty has is his and he has total and last say over it.

The search for the missing money is the first step on an intriguing trail in the life of Dusty, career criminal. Robbing banks and collecting on debts is just part of what he does. Violence fueled by many factors is just part of his personae. While the bank robbery brings a sense of adrenaline and purpose, something he rarely finds in other pursuits, it also serves as a means of peace and taking the edge of off the day to day stressors. A complicated man who finds a few minutes peace when he can find it whether it is with a bottle, a woman, or by beating the heck out a loser who didn’t pay his gambling debts, Dusty is constantly in search of something better. That search has ramifications for him as well as everyone he has any contact with in Uncle Dust: A Novel by Rob Pierre.

This is a very complicated read that features a rather unlikeable hero. Dusty craves the rush of what he does and has a grasp, at least to a certain point, on why he does it. Prone to violence and yet the violence is often on behalf of or because of someone he cares about. It is a bleak life and yet some of his most violent moments when he is using or abusing people are when he feels the most alive. He claims to not cares about others and yet is often is doing things to help others.

The result is a complicated trip in the hard boiled mind of a criminal who is fairly aware of his behavior and is unable to change. There is a certain redemptive quality at points in the read and which is often destroyed by the choices Dusty is later compelled to make. Published by All Due Respect Books, this is not a light or easy read and certainly is not for everybody. Uncle Dust is a very good read as well as an intriguing character study. When so many authors take the clichéd angle in such situations, Rob Pierce has done something truly different and well worth reading.

Uncle Dust
Rob Pierce
http://www.uncledust.com
All Due Respect Books
http://www.allduerespectbooks.com
January 2015
ASIN #: B00SGGKHOE
E-Book (also available in paperback)
314 Pages
$2.99

Material supplied by the publisher at time of publication in exchange for my objective review.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2015